Messilah Mosque

This project is a mosque located within the residential seaside neighborhood of Messilah. Encompassing ablution and worship space for men and women, the design forges a sequence of spaces that articulate the Islamic ritual of prayer. Expansive halls and intimate libraries provide ancillary interior space for religious study and recitation, while exterior courtyards planted with shading trees serve as informal community gathering areas for residents of the neighborhood. Built in a composite of concrete and offset courses of sand colored brick that are rotated toward mecca, the building expresses a humble presence within its surroundings, its most striking details that of a carefully considered play between light and shadow.